The Oviatt Library and CSUN’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) work together each year to help prepare CSUN Bridge students for academic experiences and expectations at the college level. As a team, the Library and the EOP encourage and empower students to utilize Library and campus resources and services so they can be successful during their years here and beyond.
A four-story academic Library can be an intimidating place to maneuver for the first time. However, during the last four years our librarians have provided 75 Library tours for 1,424 EOP students and 28 Library lectures for 704 EOP students to support them during their transition from high school to our university. The tours and lectures help to instill students with the confidence and ability necessary to navigate our physical resources and we find they also help to ease feelings of apprehension which can be a common experience when students first arrive.
During the tours, librarians guide students in locating Course Reserve and Interlibrary Loan services, our 170-seat Computer Lab which provides them with a place to research their assignments and type papers, information about obtaining research help from our team of 28 librarians and much more. These EOP tours and lectures begin in the summer. However, for many EOP students, the collaboration continues throughout the academic year with several follow up Library lectures to continue to provide them with the opportunity to acquire the skills needed to navigate scholarly online resources and services successfully.
During the Library lectures, Oviatt librarians work with students to identify the types of sources needed for their research, the specialized databases which will carry the information they are seeking, and the ways in which they can properly cite their papers. Several hundred EOP Bridge students will be visiting the Library within the coming weeks to begin their academic journey. We at the Oviatt Library say welcome to all 2012 EOP Bridge students!
